Water & Wastewater Treatment

www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | ocTober 2014 | 5 Polluters pay Southern Water faces record £176M Ofwat levy over sewage discharges Sykes Pumps to back achievement awards Sykes Pumps has been confirmed as sponsor of the 'Engineer of the Year' category at the 2015 Water Industry Achievement Awards, organised by WWT and sister title WET News to celebrate and reward forward thinking and best practice in the water industry. Sykes Pumps sales director Chris Graham said: "As a major supplier to the water industry and a company that feels strongly about the de- velopment of engineering talent, it seems natu- ral that we would again support the event and the category through our sponsorship. "Good luck to all who enter this year and let's hope it prompts more people to consider an engi- neering career in the water industry." There are 13 categories in this year's awards, which are given out at a black-tie ceremony at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on 21st April, 2015. The Closing date for entries to the awards is Fri- day 12th December. Full details of the entry process are available at www.wwtonline.co.uk/awards Southern Water faces a re- cord £176M penalty from Ofwat in the current price review process a•er the reg- ulator expressed concerns over its management of compliant sewage discharg- es, it has emerged. Ofwat's dra• determina- tion in response to South- ern's 2015-20 business plan was for a £150M shortfall levy - a penalty which re- duces the amount the com- pany can charge customers – to be imposed based on its operational record, and for another £26M of revenue to be docked in response to its record on customer com- plaints. The proposed short- fall levy would be the high- est ever imposed under the price review process, and would result in an 8.5% re- duction in average customer bills before inflation is ap- plied. The vast majority of the £150M shortfall levy (£138M) VOX POP "The wastewater treatment industry as yet lacks a consistent yet flexible set of design algorithms that can be used anywhere in the world. Given the international nature and importance of the industry, that doesn't make sense" Richard Manning, managing director, GEA 2H Water Technologies (see p53) "The five-year regulatory cycle has unwittingly produced a cycle of 'boom and bust' for the supply chain. The impact of exposure to this flux on cash flow can be catastrophic." Matthew Wheelock, chief executive, Wheelocks (see p11) "The arguments for technological innovation are strong. The internet of things can help with this race for innovation. Automated devices can read meters, and automatically transmit that via the net, saving time, jobs, carbon and money." Mark Lane, chairman, British Water (see p7) reflects the company's un- derperformance on dis- charges in the sewerage net- work since 2010, while the firm is also being penalised for unplanned interruptions and internal sewer flood- ing, said Ofwat. Meanwhile, the £26M revenue reduction comes a•er Southern was ranked 17thout of 18th in Ofwat's Service Incentive Mechanism (SIM) for cus- tomer service and complaint handling. An Ofwat spokesman said: "We are currently in the process of setting prices for Southern Water over the next five years. As part of that process, we need to look at whether the compa- ny has delivered what cus- tomers have paid for over the last five years. We have challenged Southern, and in particular still have ques- tions over how they have operated their sewerage net- work and treatment works." Sewage spill costs Thames £250K Thames Water is to fund a National Trust warden and has taken other pre- ventative measures a er was slapped with a £250,000 fine for polluting a brook in a 143-acre nature reserve in the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Reading Crown Court heard how untreated sewage flowed into Chase Brook at Newbury, Berkshire, a er two pumps became blocked at the broad Layings Sewage Pumping Station in August 2012. A 600m stretch of the brook was polluted, causing high levels of both ammonia and e-coli in the water, which, combined with low oxygen levels, meant that recovery from the incident was a long process. Southern have until Oc- tober 3rd to respond to the dra• determination, and Of- wat's final decision will then be due on December 12th. A shortfall levy differs from a fine in that the com- pany is forced to make cus- tomer bills cheaper, mean- ing that shareholders o•en have to put more money in to make up the deficit. The pre- vious largest shortfall levy for a water company was £69M imposed on Northum- brian Water in 2009. Southern Water said that it was "continuing its dia- logue" with Ofwat about its 2015-20 Business Plan and that in many respects Ofwat had responded positively to the proposals in the plan. It would respond to the "fur- ther questions raised" by the regulator within the five- week consultation period, the firm added in a state- ment. Visit wwtonline.co.uk

• Cover